• Location: Phoenix Square, Public Services Ring, New Kourou
• Type: Supplies · Social · Light Risk
• Era: Beta Age
• Tone: Bright · Bustling · Slightly chaotic

Atmosphere & Sensory Cues: Sizzling eel fat · drifting steam · shouting vendors · clatter of crates · children weaving between stalls

Phoenix Square opens before you in a whirl of smells, voices, and movement. Tarp sails ripple overhead, casting shifting colors across the raised decking. Vendors call out their offers, knives clack against chopping boards, and smoke from driftwood grills curls into the twilight air.

A voice you recognize rises above the chaos:

“Tasty Tandora! Healthy fruits! Smoothies — one K!”

It’s Sola Enu, the same vendor whose call pulled you toward this place from the street. His stall glows warm yellow beneath a patched canopy, Tandora fruits stacked in neat pyramids beside a sputtering smoothie press.

Around him, the Food Market hums with frontier energy: steaming Zelor rolls, skewers hissing on open fire, Mirel Leaf hanging from racks, Hoo and Odo meat curing in tidy rows, and second-hand garments fluttering on a breeze that seems to come from everywhere at once.

It’s lively. It’s crowded. It’s easy to lose track of your purse. And if you don’t want to be seen by anyone, this is probably not your ideal hiding place — this square has a thousand eyes.

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*Finlay attempts theft only if:* • PCs were not robbed previously and did not catch him last time • OR PCs have passive Perception < 13 • OR group splits or gets distracted

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If PCs purchased from a stall during The Man Without A Name: That vendor recognizes them and gives a 1 K discount or a free sample.

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• Tone: Bright, bustling, chaotic in a friendly-but-overwhelming way. Nothing here is lethal — but everything is distracting. The market should feel like a living organism with constant motion, noise, and temptation.

• Pacing: Keep things brisk. Use overlapping vendor calls, sizzling pans, courier drones zipping overhead, and shifting crowds to maintain momentum. The players should feel pulled in several directions at once.

• No Resolutions Here:
  • This scene is strictly about supplies, flavor, and small social beats.
  • Travel choices resolve in Scene 2a (Courier Station) or Scene 2b (Mandala’s Mounts) or Scene 2d (Cart Purchase).
  • If the pickpocket chase triggers, it should begin and end *inside Phoenix Square*.

• Focus the Stakes:
  • Food and water are crucial for the journey to Morningstar and beyond.
  • Losing money here may meaningfully affect later decisions (mount rental, caravan tickets).
  • The pickpocket introduces tension without derailing the adventure — a short spike of adrenaline.

• Continuity & Returning Player Recognition:
  • Vendors should recognize PCs who bought from them during the previous adventure and reward them with small discounts or friendly banter.
  • If Finlay Hyden robbed or was caught by the PCs previously, he does not strike again.

• Optional Trooper Tension:
  • If the PCs are wanted or suspicious, Troopers use the dense crowd to quietly observe them.
  • This should create pressure, not combat.

• Scene Flow:
  • Guide players toward choices — not outcomes.
  • The market gives information, supplies, rumors, and a single optional threat.
  • Once players have what they need, funnel them gently back to the travel decision.

Short version:

• ↑↑ Start: Hunting An Unknown Hunter
• ★ Overview: All Scenes of Hunting An Unknown Hunter
• ☞ Resolution: Case Resolution and discoverable Backstory
• ← Previous Scene: Scene 2 – Travel Preparations